Awards and Recognition - Counseling Shortcuts

Our Prize categories

Under the auspices of the Counseling Shortcuts, Our Prize categories represent our proposed approach to help students strengthen their skills and contribute to wider societal progress. By encouraging students to embrace this framework, we believe we are contributing to accelerate the pace of change through the education ecosystem, making a sizable contribution to attaining the goals.

For the prize category, we have developed a rigorous set of criteria to judge and rate students' applications.

Download the Prizes Framework and Judging Criteria

Students & Community Engagement

Linking the students to a broader community, enhancing the range of support and opportunities available to students. It is the connection between students and all the educationalists with proactive consultation, collaboration and shared leadership with these stakeholders which enhances the students and the community.

Guiding questions for this criterion:

Do the students have active and healthy relationships with families and guardians?
Do the students have an engagement of parent/guardian/other community member engagement in their learning and understanding?
Do your students have relationships with community partners and other educationalists in your community that impact their lives?

Collaborative Leadership & Practice

Shared leadership & management practices, decision-making processes, use of data and data systems, rules, culture, procedures, and policies at all levels that are a foundational sustainable part of the students prioritizing shared ownership of leadership in the community.

Guiding questions for this criterion:

Does the initiative have collaborative leadership & practices that build relationships throughout all key educationalists in the community?
Does the initiative use and share data with community partners to meet students and families’ needs?
Does the initiative have active family & community engagement dialogue, participation and/or programs that help reach every child with access, relevance and/or quality holistic education?
Does the initiative addresses differences through procedures, systems, programs and communications that are inclusive and equitable?

Enhances the Community

Online learning has become the hub of the community and a life-long learning initiative that will enhance the community through developing key strategies, programs, projects such as parent and family learning and literacy programs, food growing programs, infrastructure investments, improving quality of life with physical activity or mental health programs, economic development etc.

Guiding questions for this criterion:

Does the initiative have programs that are intergenerational that enhance the student and community life?
Do they have volunteer or mentorship programs to help and support students?
Do they have projects and programs in place to help with equity and inclusiveness in the community and beyond?
Do they offer programs that expand beyond the understanding from before to after schooling as well as during the course of learning?

Integrated Student Services

Securing and coordinating support that targets academic and non-academic barriers to achievement in order to promote improved outcomes for students, families, and communities.

Guiding questions for this criterion:

Does the initiative have supportive working relationships among its staff and students? And other community organizations and representative groups?
Do they offer support programs to address relevant socio-economic and health challenges at both the student and family level?
Do they assign staff to coordinating programs so that the right service gets to students at the right time?
Do they have integrated student services that support students by providing help with health care, mental health, guidance, learning resources, food insecurities, social work and/or other services?
Do they have collaborative leadership & practices that share the accountability for students doing what’s best for the student, no matter the jurisdiction?

Teaching & Learning

Teaching and learning opportunities and pedagogy both during the contest and after that help to build knowledge, habits and skills to improve health and wellbeing for students, and the community.

Guiding questions for this criterion:

Does the initiative have resources, activities and provincial curriculum where students gain age-appropriate knowledge and experiences, that help them build the skills to improve their health and well-being?
Do they have debates as an integral part of how it approaches education?
Do they have various educational activity as a priority in designing the learning of all subjects, especially at the elementary and middle school level?
Do they utilize restorative practices to help students learn and build healthy relationships and sense of self?
Does the initiative participate in the promotion and implementation of inclusive and equity focused initiatives that promote wellness?

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